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De-escalation training for police has received widespread attention as a method for reducing unnecessary and excessive use of force. There is virtually no research on de-escalation, and as a result, there is little understanding about what it is, what it includes and whether it is effective. The current study compares attitudes about the importance and use of de-escalation among officers who were randomly assigned to participate (or not) in de-escalation training.

The current study draws from a larger randomized controlled trial of de-escalation training in the Tempe, Arizona Police Department (TPD). Approximately 100 officers completed a survey in June–July 2019 and again in June–July 2020. TPD delivered the de-escalation training to half the patrol force in February–March 2020. The authors compare treatment and control officers' attitudes about the importance of specific de-escalation tactics, how often they use those tactics and their sentiments de-escalation training. The authors employ an econometric random-effects model to examine between-group differences post-training while controlling for relevant officer attributes including age, race, sex, prior training and squad-level pretraining attitudes about de-escalation.

Treatment and control officers reported positive perceptions of de-escalation tactics, frequent use of those tactics and favorable attitudes toward de-escalation before and after the training. After receiving the training, treatment officers placed greater importance on compromise, and reported more frequent use of several important tactics including compromise, knowing when to walk away and maintaining officer safety.

Only a few prior studies have has examined whether de-escalation training changes officer attitudes. The results from the current study represent an initial piece of evidence suggesting de-escalation training may lead to greater use of those tactics by officers during encounters with citizens.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of attempted suspect-provoked shootings (SPS) in Victoria, Australia, and explore nonlethal tactics police officers use to resolve such incidents.

A random sample of 20 percent of police-attended incidents was sourced from a police contact-based database. The narrative of each incident was coded using established criteria for “suicide-by-cop.” Incidents that met the criteria were further analyzed to elucidate historical and situational characteristics. To supplement these data, operational police officers were invited to participate in a survey about particulars of an attempted SPS incident that they had attended and resolved non-fatally.

Police are encountering these incidents up to three times a week in Victoria, Australia. While they engage in a range of tactics, police report that communication and negotiation skills are the most effective means of successful resolution.

Although the survey attempted to correct for the potential limitations of using administrative data for research purposes, its weakness is in the modest sample size that utilizes self-report data that may lead to recall biases. Further research would benefit from using complementary methodologies that seek to examine police tactics and elucidate decision-making processes using video-based or written vignettes.

Officers’ awareness of both the commonalty of this phenomenon and of the important situational characteristics may lead to greater skill and confidence in managing these.

This is one of the very few published studies investigating prevalence and characteristics of attempted SPS incidents.

This paper analyzes the relationship between the Chilean student movement and state force action during the period 2000–2012, placing specific attention on three waves of student contention that took place at the turn of the century. During the decade under study, the Chilean students became more contentious, they broadened their demands beyond specific grievances to encompass a critique to the education system as a whole, their alliance system grew (gaining from these denser networks of collaboration more resources to mobilize), and they managed to win public opinion on their side. However, the relationship with state forces has not been static across time, and both students and state forces have experienced changes in how they interact with each other. The results of this paper are based on a mixed method approach that drew on a quantitative database of student contention in Chile (n = 491 student events) and 15 in-depth interviews with leader activists from the most salient recent Chilean student movements of three periods under study, in addition to some key informants. The findings confirm that when student protests target the government, when they use disruptive strategies that affect the status-quo, and when they mobilize alongside other challenging actors, they are more likely to be met with direct repression by authorities. The research shows that there is a “dialect of repression” at play by which state forces' direct repression of protest can be two-fold: on the one hand, it gives students visibility in the public opinion, but on the other, it can be negative for ushering support if the media and authorities are successful in portraying them as violent or a threat to public order. In this sense, the figure of the “encapuchado,” students who disguise their identity and purposefully seek confrontation with authorities during mobilizations is problematized by the movement itself. How to win public opinion and use that visibility in their favor is related to decision-making mechanisms that the movement puts at play but also to the calculations done on the part of the government and security forces about the leverage of the movement.

Police interviews with terrorist suspects are perhaps one of the most challenging interviews a police officer will experience. The purpose of this paper is to explore the social context of these interviews and the impact that this might have upon the way in which police officers carry them out, including the use of robust, even aggressive tactics.

Risks associated with police interview tactics are identified, including obtaining unreliable information, problems with suspect cooperation and the potential impact upon communities including problems with the perceived legitimacy of the police and community cooperation.

Ways of mitigating the risks are considered including improving police officer cultural awareness, a consideration of interview tactics and the use of ethical interview approaches such as the planning and preparation, engage and explain, account, closure, evaluation interview model and conversation management.

The impact of the use of ethical interviewing is considered from a procedural justice perspective, and the paper illustrates how this approach may give rise to improved reliability of information from interviews and may impact upon perceptions of police legitimacy from communities.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of police use of conducted energy devices (CEDs) on officer and suspect injuries while controlling for other types of force and resistance and other factors.

Data on 1,645 use‐of‐force incidents occurring between January 1, 2002 and July 2006 were obtained from two different law enforcement agencies. Logistic and generalized ordered logistic regressions are used to model the odds of injury and severity of injury.

The use of CEDs was associated with reduced odds of officer and suspect injury and the severity of suspect injury in one agency. In the other agency CED use was unrelated to the odds of injury; however, the use of pepper spray was associated with reduced odds of suspect injury. Among other findings, in both agencies the use of hands‐on tactics by police was associated with increased odds of officer and suspect injury, while the use of canines was associated with increased odds of suspect injury.

Although this research was carried out in two distinctly different law enforcement agencies with different histories of CED adoption, the fact that CED use was associated with reductions in injuries in one agency but not the other indicates the need for additional research on the impact of CED use in other settings

The analysis suggests that relative to other forms of force, the use of CEDs and pepper spray can reduce the risk of injury to both suspects and law enforcement officers. This information should prove useful to law enforcement agencies considering adopting CEDs and suggests that agencies should consider the use of these less lethal alternatives in place of hands‐on tactics against actively resistant suspects.

At the time of this writing there was no published independent research on the risks of injury associated with CED use in field settings. The findings reported herein will help inform the public debate on the utility of CEDs for law enforcement.

The purpose of this paper is to examine perceptions of de-escalation among police officers who were nominated by peers as the most skilled at this strategy.

A peer nomination process identified eight skilled de-escalators in one department. Interviews were conducted with the officers individually. Additionally, in a focus group, the officers watched and debriefed body-worn camera videos for themes related to de-escalation.

Officers defined de-escalation as bringing calm to a conflict using the least amount of force possible. They said it could also be used preventatively. They identified de-escalation tactics, characteristics of skilled de-escalators and situations in which de-escalation is less effective.

This study initiates research into a much discussed but rarely researched topic. Future studies should continue to work toward a definition of de-escalation and understand how it can be used in policing to reduce violence, protect life and enhance police legitimacy.

Explores the debate over the safety and efficacy of police use of force tactics in general, and pepper spray in particular. Introduces the force continua, checklists employed by US police forces to prescribe levels of force to be used in particular situations. Reviews the literature, discusses two recent studies and the legal and ethical issues involved. Suggests further research in less‐than‐lethal weapons.

This paper aims to estimate the effects of gun possession arrests made by a specialized, proactive police patrol unit in the Houston Police Department (HPD).

Time series analyses are used to estimate the effects of weekly gun possession arrests on weekly counts of gun crimes in Houston, TX. Models isolate the effects of arrests made by the proactive patrol unit from gun possession arrests made by other HPD officers.

Citywide and beat‐level analyses show that the proactive unit made meaningful contributions to existing levels of illegal possession arrests. Time series analyses using weekly data show that these additional arrests are associated with significant declines in offences committed with guns. Findings support existing evidence that shows police can affect serious crimes by targeting firearms that are illegally possessed and carried.

The analysis can not precisely determine whether additional patrol presence or arrests are the precise mechanisms that might be influencing gun crimes.

The findings are consistent with existing evidence and suggest that focused police work to seize illegally possessed firearms from the streets and arrest those in illegal possession of firearms will impact offences committed with firearms.

The analysis extends existing work that tests the effects of proactive patrol activities on offences committed with firearms. The analysis is distinct from existing research on this topic because it estimates the effects of gun possession arrests rather than the effects of gun seizures.

Law enforcement social control policies over black Americans can be traced back to early policing. From the development of the “patroller” system (established in 1794 to systematically police slaves) to contemporary police militarization, the relationship between black Americans and the police has been defined by bitter conflict that continuously results in outward expressions of discontent and protests. Recent examples abound, including the Los Angeles riots in the 1990s, the aftermath of the murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, as well as the protests sparked by the deaths of Eric Garner and Freddie Gray. Indeed, social, political, and media speculation has placed police behavior under heavy scrutiny. Questions abound regarding the fairness, appropriateness, legality, and legitimacy of police methods, as critics have accused policing agencies of adopting punitive and repressive measures that target communities of color (and act as provocation for rioting). This chapter will use a critical lens to first investigate the historical social control strategies used against communities of color by law enforcement (beginning with antebellum “beat companies” to more contemporary “broken windows” policies). Next, the author observes that, in addition to institutional evolution, police behavior (specifically related to community policing and responses to community protests) have accordingly shifted since the nineteenth century. For example, the author discusses the three current strategies of protest management (escalated force, negotiated management, and strategic incapacitation) that have all been embraced to varying degrees with relationship to police response to black community protests. Last, the author explores the iterative process of police “command and control” policies and black community protests, noting that these competing forces have “coevolved,” mirroring one another, and feature antagonistic attitudes from both sides.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the disorders that occurred in Manchester in 1981 and 2011 with the aim of comparing the similarities and differences that have been put forward to explain why these events occurred. The paper further seeks to evaluate the tactics that might be used in future years to police disaffected communities.

The research for this paper is library‐based, making considerable use of primary sources that relate to events in 1981 and 2011. The objectives of this research are addressed by examining a number of key themes: the 1981 Moss Side riot: explanations for the 1981 Moss Side riot: the 2011 riots in Greater Manchester: explanations of the causes of the 2011 riots in Manchester: the future policing of disaffected communities in Manchester.

The research established that although there were many similarities in the events that occurred in 1981 and 2011, there were also important differences that reflect social, economic and cultural changes that have affected society since 1981. It also rejects the opinion that a more aggressive style of policing is the only way to police disaffected communities to prevent a repetition of events that took place in 2011.

The research suggests that the way forward for the policing of disaffected communities lies in an approach that seeks to engage hearts and minds rather than one that aims to quell dissent through coercive methods.

The paper presents an original comparison of events that took place in one area of Britain in 1981 and 2011. The interpretation of material relating to the causes of rioting and future policing policies is informed by both academic and practitioner perspectives.